Compartmented package



May 7, 1957 H. D. KNOOP ETAL ,7 1

COMPARTMENTED PACKAGE Filed Sept. 28. 1953 uvvzmoxs HERBERT 00w KNOOP By JOHN W.KlNNE-Y;Jr.

COMPAR'I'MENTED PACKAGE Herbert Dow 'Knoop and John W. Kinney, Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio Application September 28, 1953, Serial No. 382,764

4 Claims. (Cl. 206-47) This invention relates to a compartmentcd package, and more particularly to a package useful in the making of beverages.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive, yet highly etficient package having a plurality of compartments, one for a beverage ingredient such as coffee, tea, cocoa, soup or the like, a second compartment for a sweetening agent such as sugar, saccharine or the like, and a third compartment for a creaming or seasoning agent.

A further object of the invention is toprovide a compartmented package having a plurality of score or tear lines therein for enabling the user thereof to selectively open various combinations of the said compartments for thereby quickly obtaining any one of a plurality of types of beverage, viz., straight, with a sweetening agent, with a creaming or seasoning agent, or with both a sweetening and creaming or seasoning agent, thereby providing from one compact package a beverage suited to the taste of the individual.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a compartmented package having the hereinabove described characteristics, which is constructed and arranged whereby to lend itself to mass production techniques.

These and other objects are attained by the means described herein and as disclosed in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a top plan view of a compartmented'package embodying the teachings of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an end view of the package of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a modified type of compartmented package embodying the present invention.

Fig. 5 is an edge view of the package of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4 illustrating the manner in which the compartmented package is used.

Fig. 7 is a partial view of a modified type of compartmented package embodying the details of the present invention.

With particular reference now to Figs. 2 and 3, the numerals 10 and 12 denote a pair of facing sheets of flexible, moisture-proof material such as metallic foil, or any other suitable moisture impervious sheet material, between which three compartments 14, 16 and 18 have been formed such as, by way of example, securing the adjacent faces of sheets 10 and 12 around the peripheral edges of the said compartments.

It should be understood that the present invention is neither concerned with nor directed to the particular substance from which sheets 10 and 12 are fabricated, nor to the particular method or means by which the various portions of the sheet are secured together for defining the various compartments.

Each of the compartments contains a measure of a diiferent type of material, by Way of example, compartment 14 may contain a beverage ingredient, such as a product which when mixed with hot water will form ite States Patent 'ice tea, coffee, cocoa, soup or the like. Compartment 16 may contain a creaming or seasoning agent, and compartment 18 may contain a suitable sweetening agent.

'With particular reference now toFig. l, the numeral 20 denotes a score or tear line which extends through and along one edge of compartment 14, thereby defining an edge tab 19 which controls access to compartment 14. The numeral 22 denotes a score or tear line which extends through and along a common edge of each of compartments 14, 16 and 18 for thereby enabling the user of the device to open all three compartments by removing tab or strip 24.

The numeral 26 denotes a score or tear line extending through and along a common edge of compartments 14 and 16 for defining a strip 28 which when removed from the package will open and thereby provide access to the interior of compartments 14 and 16.

The numeral 390 denotes a fourth score or fold line extending through and along an edge of compartment 18 for defining a tab 326 which when removed Will'control access to the interior of compartment 18.

From the foregoing it will be noted that if tab 19 be removed the contents of compartment 14 may be emptied into a suitable receptacle for providing a straight beverage containing only the beverage ingredient housed within compartment 14. If, however, it will be desired to have a beverage containing sugar and cream, tab 24 is removed whereby the contents of each of compartments 14, 16 and 18 may be simultaneously emptied into a receptacle. If the beverage ingredient plus cream is desired, tab 28 may be removed for simultaneously emptying the contents of compartments 14 and 16 into a receptacle. If the beverage and a sweetening agent only is desired, tab 19 is first removed for emptying the beverage ingredient into a receptacle, after which tab 320 maybe removed for emptying the sweetening agent into the receptacle.

With reference now to Figs. 4 and 6, it will be noted that the numeral 36 denotes a compartment containing a beverage ingredient and the numerals 32 and 34 denote compartments containing a creaming agent and sweetening or seasoning agent, respectively. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the longitudinal axes of each of compartments 30, 32 and 34 are in substantial parallelism, said axes extending transversely of the package.

The numeral 36 denotes a score or fold line in spaced parallelism with side edge 35 of the package, said line extending through an end edge of compartment 30 and defining a side strip 38 which, when removed, will open only compartment 30.

The numeral 40 denotes a score or tear line in spaced parallelism with edge 42 of the package, said line extending through the other end of compartment 30 and through the adjacent ends 44 and 46 of compartments 32 and 34, respectively. Line 49 may be considered as dividing the left side of the package into an elongate strip 48, which, when severed from the package, will open the left end of each of compartments 3t), 32 and 34.

The numerals 59 and 52 denote score or fold lines which are normal to line 40, said lines substantially bisecting compartment 36 for thereby subdividing edge strip 48 into a first tab 54 and a second tab 56, it being noted that tab 54 controls access to compartments 30 and 32, whereas tab 56 controls access to compartments 30 and 34.

From the foregoing it will be noted that it it be desired to prepare a cup of coffee with sugar and cream, strip 48 will be removed for thereby opening the ends of each of compartments 30, 32 and 34. If, however, it be desired to prepare a cup of coffee with sugar, tab 56 is removed for thereby opening compartments 30 and 34. If a cup of coifee containing cream be desired, tab 54 may be removed for opening compartments 30 and 32.

With particular reference now to Fig. 4, it will be noted that a small tab 60 is defined by score or tear lines 50 and 52, said tab being located between tabs 54 and 56. This small tab may be initially removed from the package for positively defining the laterally spaced adjacent edges 50 and 52 of tabs 54 and 56, respectively, before either of these latter two tabs are torn from the package. In this manner accidental or unintentional removal of the tabs is effectively precluded.

With reference now to Fig. 7, it will be noted that this package differs from that illustrated in Fig. 4 solely by reason of the omission of small tab 60, it being noted that tabs 54 and 56 are set apart by means of score or tear line 70, which defines the adjacent edges of said tabs.

It should be further understood that the invention contemplates the use of other types of means, in addition to score of tear lines, for effecting the selective opening of various of the compartments such as, by way of example, utilization of filamentary elements imbedded between the facing sheets, and the like.

From the foregoing it will be noted that simple, inexpensive, yet highly elfective means have thus been provided for enabling a person to selectively obtain a beverage containing various ingredients.

What is claimed is:

1. A compartmented container comprising a pair of facing sheets, a first, a second, and a third compartment defined by said sheets, a first tear line extending through an edge of the first compartment, a second tear line extending through an edge of the first and second compartments, a third tear line extending through an edge of the first, second and third compartments, and a fourth tear line extending through an edge of the third compartment, wherein each of said tear lines is located along a different edge of the container.

2. A compartmented container comprising a pair of facing sheets, a first, a second and a third compartment defined by said sheets, with the longitudinal axis of each of said compartments in substantial parallelism and extending transversely of the longitudinal axis of said sheets, a first tear line in spaced parallelism with a side edge of the sheets and extending through an end of the second compartment, a second tear line in spaced parallelism with the other side edge of the sheets and extending through the other end of the second compartment and through an adjacent end of each of the first and third compartments.

3. A compartmented container comprising a pair of facing sheets, a first, a second and a third compartment defined by said sheets, with the longitudinal axis of each of said compartments in substantial parallelism and extending transversely of the longitudinal axis of said sheets, a first tear line in spaced parallelism with a side edge of the sheets and extending through an end of the second compartment, a second tear line in spaced parallelism with the other side edge of the sheets and extending through the other end of the second compartment and through an adjacent end of each of the first and third compartments, and means subdividing the second tear line intermediate its length for providing a pair of end tabs, one tab selectively controlling access to the first compartment and the second compartment, the other tab selectively controlling access to the third compartment and the second compartment.

4. A compartmented container comprising a pair of facing sheets, three laterally spaced compartments defined by said sheets, wherein said compartments are disposed in spaced, side-by-side relationship with one end of all three compartments in substantial axial alignment, and with the opposite end of two adjacent compartments in substantial axial alignment, and three separate tear lines in said sheets, the first tear line extending across the axially aligned ends of the three compartments, the second tear line extending across the axially aligned opposite ends of two compartments, the third tear line extending transversely across the first and second tear lines and across the outer edge of the endmost of said compartments.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,931,765 Leever Oct. 24, 1933 2,015,972 Sodergreen Oct. 1, 1935 2,125,318 Salfisberg Aug. 2, 1938 2,245,738 Taylor June 17, 1941 2,401,110 Rohdin May 28, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS 21,679 Great Britain Apr. 14, 1910 986,640 France Nov. 25, 1943 

